He will host his second public forum Wednesday night, bringing along administrators from the police and fire departments as well as code enforcement officials in the hope of "opening the lines of communication" with the public at large.

"It's always been my contention that in our commission form of government it is hard to get information from our citizens," the commissioner said Tuesday. "I want to give people the opportunity to ask questions and hear what people's concerns are."

To that end, Mathiesen has arranged his second forum in what he hopes will be a three-times-a-year opportunity to interact with the public.

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Residents are allotted two minutes each to speak at the opening of City Council meetings, but Mathiesen said his public forums will provide opportunity for interaction.

"I want people to know where I stand on issues and what we've been doing," he said, adding that he will likely use the opportunity to talk about some of the recent drug arrests in the city and the vacant property registry just adopted by the City Council.

Mathiesen said it will also give residents a chance to ask any questions about the year-end report on the status of the city's ambulance program, which is available on the city's website.

The open forum will be preceded by a presentation from Assistant Police Chief Greg Veitch on the police department's protocols and strategies for dealing with an "active shooter" in a public place.

The meeting will start at 7 Wednesday night on the third floor of City Hall in Saratoga Music Hall.